A former South African Police Service (SAPS) officer has told the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry that his son, Bevan Loftus, was murdered by members of a police task team acting as a paid "hit squad" and not killed during a shootout as the police maintain.
Allegation of paid contract
Gregory Loftus, who previously served in the SAPS, told the commission that his son was the target of an assassination contracted by a competitor in the tow-truck industry for R2.5 million. He rejected the police account that Bevan and his associates exchanged fire with officers at a flat in Morningside, Durban, on 1 April 2023, and said the scene did not bear signs of a shootout.
"From the pictures I have seen and taken and the markings on the walls and the floor in the flat, I do not believe there was a shootout," Loftus said.
Loftus alleged that members of a specialised task team, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Deena Govender, carried out the killings. He told the commission that both he and his son had been subjected to harassment and intimidation from what he described as a police "hit squad" since 2022, culminating in his son's death in April 2023.
Context given to the commission
The former officer said the animosity began amid violent disputes in the towing sector. He alleged that a campaign of targeted shootings of his son, his associates and drivers commenced in Wentworth during 2020, which he linked to a drug gang known locally as the Cartel.
Loftus also told the inquiry he had received information, including from a serving policeman, that there was a genuine contract to kill his son and that threats extended to other family members. He said that after the threats came to light his younger son, who worked as a Bolt driver, stopped operating because of safety concerns.
- Claim: Bevan was killed by a police task team as part of a paid contract.
- Amount alleged: R2.5 million.
- Date of incident: 1 April 2023, flat in Morningside, Durban.
Implications and avenues for the commission
The testimony speaks to broader allegations the commission is probing about the conduct of specialised police task teams in KwaZulu‑Natal. Evidence presented to the inquiry has suggested such teams may have been involved in targeted killings of suspects linked to cash‑in‑transit robberies, taxi violence and drug syndicates. Loftus’s account, which frames the killings as a contracted assassination rather than a lawful police operation, directly challenges the official version of events.
The commission will be tasked with weighing Loftus’s claims against other testimony and documentary evidence, including ballistics, scene photographs, witness statements and any operational records from the task team named in his evidence.
| Event | Date | Alleged detail |
|---|---|---|
| Start of targeted shootings in Wentworth | 2020 | Violence linked to a group called the Cartel; tow‑truck drivers targeted |
| Threats and intimidation reported | 2022 | Loftus family received information of a hit on Bevan for R2.5 million |
| Shooting that killed Bevan Loftus | 1 April 2023 | Killed at a Morningside flat; police say there was an exchange of fire; Loftus disputes this |
The former SAPS officer’s testimony adds to a sequence of hearings at the Madlanga Commission that have scrutinised allegations of extrajudicial killings and unlawful conduct by police units in the province. The commission’s findings could have consequences for accountability within the police and for how task teams are authorised and overseen.
At this stage Loftus’s account remains an allegation before the commission. The inquiry must determine whether there is sufficient independent evidence to substantiate claims of a paid assassination and unlawful conduct by named members of the police task team.
